Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Where War on Terrorism Will Go Next Is A "Riddle" Waiting To Be Solved

Aired November 28, 2001 - 05:17   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: CNN -- excuse me -- the U.S. has pledged to pursue the war on terrorists far beyond the Afghan borders.

Our Senior White House Correspondent John King looks at what the next targets could be.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): First things first is the administration motto, even after the president's new tough talk about Iraq. But there are ongoing deliberations about the war's future fronts. Goal number one is rooting out al Qaeda cells outside Afghanistan. Somalia, Sudan and Yemen are major concerns. So are the Philippines and Indonesia, because of local terrorist groups the administration says have at least loose ties to al Qaeda.

DANA DILLON, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: This is already a second front in this war. It's just now we're going to be paying a lot more attention to it because Afghanistan is winding down.

KING: A key administration debate now taking shape is how to eventually expand the campaign to nations long accused of sponsoring or harboring terrorists like Iraq, Iran, Syria and Lebanon.

LEE HAMILTON, WOODROW WILSON CENTER: We really will have very little support for action against Iraq or any other country if we're not able to link that country with the September 11 attacks.

KING: One idea gaining favor in the White House is to dramatically expand the focus of the campaign and demand new international inspections in nations suspected of developing biological, chemical or nuclear weapons. Iraq tops this list. But it also includes Iran, Syria and Libya. And Mr. Bush says North Korea should allow inspections, too. Iraq gets the most attention because of the history.

SEN. CHUCK HAGEL (R), NEBRASKA: But I don't think any of our friends want to see a helicopter raid at midnight and rockets going in there without some sense of coordination and coalition building that is, I think, vital. Because then you have to ask the next question, always, what happens next?

KING: Gaining international support for inspections would be an uphill fight. And in any event, such an approach would take months, if not years, with military power as a last resort.

HAMILTON: If, after the sanctions, after a refusal to let inspectors in, you still don't have action, it might very well be at that point that the United States would have to consider a preemptive strike.

KING: Administration officials say internal deliberations about future fronts are in the very early stages.

(on camera): The overwhelming focus now and for the foreseeable future is on finishing the job in Afghanistan. As one senior official put it, "How we deal with Iraq and a lot of other places around the world is a riddle that remains to be answered."

John King, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com